Austin Packers wrestling team competes at 15-team Eastview Lightning Invitational Saturday

The Austin Packers wrestling team competed at the 15-team Eastview Lightning Invitational Saturday, and it was the Packers taking 10th place in a strong field with 48 team points.  Scott West took first with 199 points, followed by Wayzata with 179 points in second, Farmington took third in the team competition with 125.5 points, Little Falls finished fourth with 119.5 team points and Faribault rounded out the top five with 107.5 points.

Sophomore Sam Winkels at 220 pounds continued his stellar season Saturday by taking first place in his weight class, knocking off Jackson Cercioglu from St. Thomas Academy, the No. 5 ranked 220 pounder in the state by The Guillotine, the statewide wrestling publication 3-1 in overtime to advance to the championship match versus Gabe Shatskikh of Faribault, a section opponent and a state entrant from last season, and Winkels was victorious by the score of 5-1 to move his record to 19-3 on the season.  The championship win for Winkels was also his third tournament title this season.

Sam Oelfke at 170 pounds also had a strong showing by going 4-1 for the day and taking third place, knocking off the No. 2 and 4 seeds along the way and defeating Ryan Kloeckl of Little Falls 4-2 in the third-place match.

The Packers will be back in action Thursday for a quadrangular at Mankato East High School versus the host Cougars, Rochester Century and St. Peter, with the action slated to start at 5:00 p.m. that evening.